Frankie Kazarian
| birth_place = Palm Springs, California | death_date = | death_place = | resides = Yucca Valley, California | billed = Anaheim, California | trainer = Killer Kowalski | debut = May 1998 | retired = }} Frank "Frankie" B. Gerdelman (August 4, 1977) is an American professional wrestler of Armenian descent, better known by his ring name, Frankie Kazarian, Kazarian or simply, Kaz. In Ring of Honor he is a two-time ROH World Tag Team Champion with Christopher Daniels. He is also known for his work with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he also wrestled under the gimmick of Suicide. Kazarian also wrestled in the independent promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, where he won the PWG World Championship in 2003 and 2004. Also, he is the inaugural PWG World Champion when he won the Bad Ass Mother tournament. Kazarian is also a five-time TNA X Division Champion and a two-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. Professional wrestling career Kazarian began training with Killer Kowalski in Malden, Massachusetts in 1998, and wrestled his debut match after one month's training, facing Freight Train Dan. After remaining at Kowalski's school for eight months, Kazarian returned to Southern California and began wrestling on the independent circuit, primarily in the Empire Wrestling Federation, where he continued his training and teamed with Josh Galaxy as "Bad Influence". TNA commentator Mike Tenay revealed in a late 2007 shoot interview that during a WCW show in San Diego in 2000, a fan appeared to him and boldly declared that "someday, Tenay will be calling one of his matches". That fan was none other than Kazarian himself. Californian independent circuit (1998–2004) In 2000, Kazarian joined Ultimate Pro Wrestling, and in March 2001 he formed a tag team with Nova known as "Evolution". Evolution won the vacant UPW Tag Team Championships on May 30, 2001. He travelled to Japan as part of the Ultimate Pro Wrestling (UPW) roster in 2002, where he faced Steve Corino, and also as part of Evolution he and Nova were defeated by Edge and Christian. He used to freestyle rap along with his close friends John Cena and Samoa Joe while the three of them were on the road in UPW. He toured the UK, Australia and New Zealand with the now defunct World Wrestling All-Stars promotion in May 2003, where he met Glenn Gilberti and Scott D'Amore, leading to his being offered a job by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Kazarian also worked for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, and won a tournament to become the first ever PWG Heavyweight Champion on August 30, 2003. He held the title until February 22, 2004 when he was defeated by Adam Pearce. However he became their first 2-time champion when he regained the title from Adam Pearce in a "Loser Leaves PWG" match. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Single Competition(2003-2005) Kazarian joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in the summer of 2003, and quickly began pursuing the TNA X Division Championship. He was part of the first ever Ultimate X match, on August 20, 2003 along with Michael Shane and Chris Sabin, which was won by Shane. Kazarian did not appear with TNA between October 2003 and March 2004. After Chris Sabin was stripped of the title while sidelined with a knee injury, Kazarian eventually won the X-Division title on March 31, 2004, defeating The Amazing Red in a match for the vacant title. He lost the belt to A.J. Styles on June 9, 2004. In June 2004 he and Shane formed a tag team (informally known as Shazarian) managed by Traci Brooks. They claimed to resent the fact that A.J. Styles had held the TNA X Division Championship, then the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, then had won the X Division Championship once more. This was purportedly illegal according to a previously unknown by law of the TNA rulebook, which stated that an X Division competitor who participated for the Heavyweight Championship could not return to the X Division. On July 28, 2004 he and Shane faced Styles in an Ultimate X match. Kazarian and Shane were declared co-champions when both took possession of the title belt at the same time. On August 11 they defended the title in a twenty two man Gauntlet for the Gold match. Kazarian started at number one and was one of the final three participants, but was eliminated by The Amazing Red, who in turn was eliminated by Petey Williams. Kazarian was put in the same situation at November's Victory Road where he entered number one in a 20-man X Division Gauntlet and was the last man eliminated. Throughout late 2004 and early 2005, Kazarian and Shane competed in the TNA tag division. Kazarian's contract with TNA expired in September 2004 and was not renewed, but he continued working with the company on a per appearance basis. The duo eventually began a feud with the 3Live Kru and Jeff Hammond, a NASCAR analyst who was working with TNA as a commentator. This led to a match at the Against All Odds pay-per-view on February 13, 2005 between Hammond and Kru member B.G. James and Shane and Kazarian. Kazarian was pinned by Hammond after Shane miscued on a superkick and knocked him out. Serotonin (2006-2007) Kazarian returned to TNA on July 1, 2006 at Victory Road, in a Championship match loss to TNA X Division Champion Senshi. Afterwards he and his old Shazarian partner Michael Shane (now known as "Maverick" Matt Bentley due to name copyright issues) resumed in their tag team, before disappearing from television for weeks. Later resurfacing with a new goth look, the duo would be joined by Johnny Devine and all became subservient to Raven, forming the stable Serotonin. As part of Serotonin, his name was shortened to the simple and supposedly cryptic "Kaz". Kaz eventually became the first Serotonin member to become very rebellious towards Raven. Kaz turned on Raven on June 21, 2007 by attacking fellow members of Serotonin, Havok and Martyr, costing him a match against Chris Harris. Kaz (2007-2008) Since he split up with Serotonin, he has gone back to using his old ring attire and TitanTron which both said the full "Kazarian" - though it was all later changed to only say the simple Kaz (which remains his ring name) except for a few references on the TNA website. Shortly after this, he engaged in a brief feud with Robert Roode over his treatment of Ms. Brooks. Kaz would next be entered in the 2007 Fight For The Right Tournament, which he won by defeating Christian Cage at Genesis in the finals in a ladder match. On the Impact! following Genesis, Kurt Angle barely defeated Kaz to retain the TNA World Championship. At the 2007 Turning Point pay-per-view, he was partnered with Booker T against Christian Cage and Robert Roode, with Kaz and Booker winning. He then began attacking Dustin Rhodes, and stealing things from Rhodes' alter ego "Black Reign". He defeated Black Reign at Final Resolution with the Wave Of The Future. After defeating Black Reign, Kaz and Black Reign competed in a Four Corner Mouse Trap match were Kaz won but Black Reign ended up getting his things back from Kaz after hitting Kaz with his Darkness Falls weapon. On February 23, Kaz defeated Rellik. After the match, Black Reign and Rellik attacked Kaz. Eric Young ran out to help but got too scared to do anything. At Destination X, Kaz and Young defeated Black Reign and Rellik leading to Kaz and Young (now 'Super Eric') becoming a tag team. On April 13, at Lockdown 2008, they won The Cuffed In A Cage Match. On the April 17 version of TNA Impact!, following Lockdown, Kaz and Young defeated the holders of the TNA World Tag Team Championship, AJ Styles and Tomko and LAX in a triple threat tag team match for the titles after Young's alter ego, "Super Eric" pinned Styles with a bridging suplex. Later in the night, Styles complained to Jim Cornette that since Young was signed to the match, not Super Eric, and Young claims that he and Super Eric are different people, Super Eric's involvement was outside interference. When Eric refused to admit that he was Super Eric, Cornette vacated the titles. Following Kaz and Young's loss to LAX in a Deuces Wild Tournament qualifying match, Kaz competed in and won the Terror Dome Match at Sacrifice, becoming number one contender to the X Division Championship, and also taking Kurt Angle's place in the triple threat match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. The match was won by Samoa Joe, who retained the title. On the June 5 edition of Impact! Kaz won a future title match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in the first ever X Division King of the Mountain Match. He then failed to win the X Division championship at Slammiversary, losing to the X Division Champion Petey Williams. He then challenged Joe the following Thursday on Impact! for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. He lead Team TNA in the 2008 World X Cup and was in the final round at Victory Road but lost after he pulled off a huge leg drop on Daivari off the top of the Ultimate X structure. On July 21 TNAWrestling.com announced that Kaz had been released, but it had been revealed to be kayfabe. He would be interviewed by Karen Angle about him leaving and he said that he has fallen out of love with wrestling and, in kayfabe left. Suicide (2008-2010) In late 2008 Kazarian made his return to TNA Wrestling as a masked wrestler named Suicide, who was featured in Midway's ''TNA Impact!'' video game. He debuted at Final Resolution in December 2008 as a face, swinging to the ring on a cable, attacking the Motor City Machine Guns. At Destination X Suicide won the TNA X Division Championship, in his debut match, in the Ultimate X match. Because of an injury to Kazarian, Suicide was portrayed for several weeks by Christopher Daniels, who was in the costume when the character won the X Division Championship. Afterwards, Daniels began feuding with the Motor City Machineguns of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, who on the April 30 episode of Impact! accused him of being Suicide. On the May 7 episode of Impact!, Jay Lethal and Consequences Creed joined the accusations by also accusing Daniels of being Suicide. On the May 14 episode of Impact! the Motor City Machineguns and Lethal Consequences were trying to unmask Suicide in an attempt to prove that they were right about his true identity, but Daniels made the save and helped Suicide clear the ring of Shelley, Sabin, Lethal, and Creed. At Slammiversary, Suicide retained the TNA X Division Championship against Shelley, Sabin, Lethal, and Creed, in a King of the Mountain match. On the July 16 episode of Impact! Suicide lost his X Division title to Homicide after he cashed in his "Feast or Fired" briefcase. After not being seen for a few weeks, Suicide made his return at Hard Justice to compete in the Steel Asylum match, which he lost because of D'Angelo Dinero. On the August 20 episode of Impact! Suicide attacked Dinero after his match with Consequences Creed sparking a feud between the two. On the September 17 episode of Impact! Dinero defeated Suicide in a grudge match. At No Surrender Dinero defeated Suicide again, this time in a Falls Count Anywhere match. The following week on Impact! Suicide finally defeated Dinero, by pinning him in a street fight. On the October 15 episode of Impact! Homicide stole Suicide's costume and claimed to now know his true identity. On the December 3 episode Impact! Suicide made peace with Dinero and joined him, Matt Morgan and Hernandez in their war with Rhino, Team 3D and Jesse Neal. At Final Resolution Morgan, Hernandez, Dinero and Suicide defeated Neal, Team 3D and Rhino in an eight-man elimination tag team match. On the February 11, 2010, episode of Impact! Gerdelman made his final TV appearance as Suicide, losing to Matt Morgan in an 8 Card Stud Tournament qualifying match. Return as Kazarian; Fortune (2010–2011) On the February 18, 2010, episode of Impact!, Gerdelman made his return as Kazarian, teaming up with Amazing Red and Generation Me (Jeremy Buck and Max Buck) in an eight-man tag team match, where they defeated X Division Champion Doug Williams, Brian Kendrick and the Motor City Machineguns, after Kazarian pinned Williams. The following week he defeated Kendrick to earn himself a match for the X Division Championship at Destination X. However, instead of waiting for the pay-per-view, Kazarian was given his title shot on the March 8 Monday night episode of Impact in a three-way match, which also included Daniels. In the end Williams was able to retain his title by pinning Daniels. At Destination X Kazarian defeated Daniels, Kendrick and Amazing Red in a four-way ladder match to earn another shot at the X Division Championship. At Lockdown Kazarian defeated Homicide and Shannon Moore in a three-way steel cage match to win the vacant TNA X Division Championship for the fourth time (counting his reign as Suicide), after Douglas Williams was stripped of the title due to being unable to attend the event. Upon Williams' return to TNA two weeks later, he refused to hand the X Division Championship belt over to Kazarian, unless he was able to defeat him for it. At Sacrifice Kazarian lost the X Division Championship to Williams without ever actually holding the physical belt. On the following episode of Impact! Kazarian started showing signs of a heel turn, when he won an X Division battle royal to earn spot number ten in the TNA rankings for a World Title shot, impressing Ric Flair in the process. The heel turn was completed the following week, when Flair interfered in his match with Jay Lethal, which led to Kazarian scoring the roll-up victory, while grabbing a hold of his opponent's tights. After the match, Flair's other associate A.J. Styles, trying to impress his mentor, attacked Lethal, which led to an argument between him and Kazarian, who wanted to finish Lethal off himself. The distraction was enough for Lethal to dropkick both of them out of the ring. At Slammiversary VIII Kazarian lost his spot in the rankings to Kurt Angle. On the following episode of Impact! Ric Flair, who had aligned himself with Kazarian, Styles, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm, announced that he would reform the Four Horsemen under the new name Fortune, stating that each of them would have to earn their spots in the group and in order for Kazarian to earn his spot, he needed to become the Barry Windham of the group. Flair, wanting peace between Kazarian and Styles, booked them in a tag team match against Samoa Joe and Rob Terry at Victory Road. The plan seemed to work as Kazarian and Styles were victorious due to outside interference from Desmond Wolfe and in the process earned themselves spots in . On the July 22 episode of Impact! Kazarian helped Styles defeat Rob Terry to win the TNA Global Championship. The following week 's lineup was seemingly completed with the addition of Robert Roode and James Storm as the final two members of the group. However, on the August 12 episode of Impact! Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan were added to, as the stable attacked EV 2.0, a stable consisting of former Extreme Championship Wrestling performers. In the weeks leading to Bound for Glory, the stable's name was tweaked to Fortune to represent the expansion in the number of members in the group. At Bound for Glory Kazarian, Styles, Morgan, Roode and Storm were defeated in a Lethal Lockdown match by EV 2.0 members Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Sabu and Stevie Richards. On the following episode of Impact! Fortune formed an alliance with Hulk Hogan's and Eric Bischoff's new stable, Immortal. The following week Kazarian was given the objective of ending Mr. Anderson's World Heavyweight title aspirations in an Ultimate X match. Though Kazarian managed to win the match, with help from Fortune, Anderson survived and thus earned himself a title match against Immortal's Jeff Hardy. The following week tensions rose between former rivals and Fortune stable mates Kazarian and Douglas Williams, when Williams claimed he had not been given a chance to spotlight his talent, after joining Fortune, while Kazarian claimed Williams had a bad attitude and dubbed himself, Styles, Roode and Storm the "Core Four" of Fortune. On the November 4 episode of Impact!, Flair ordered Kazarian and Williams to settle their differences in the ring. Kazarian won the match between the members of Fortune, after a miscommunication between Williams and James Storm. After the match Flair made Kazarian and Williams shake hands. At Turning Point the seemingly re–united Fortune defeated EV 2.0 in a ten-man tag team match and, as a result, EV 2.0's Sabu was released from TNA. However, on the November 18 episode of Impact! Williams turned on Fortune and joined Matt Morgan, who had been kicked out of the group the previous month, reigniting the feud between Kazarian and Williams. This was followed by Williams scoring back–to–back pinfall victories over Kazarian, first in an eight-man elimination tag team match on the November 25 episode of Impact! and then in a singles match on the December 2 episode of Impact!. On the December 23 episode of Impact! Kazarian defeated Jeremy Buck, Max Buck and Robbie E in a four-way match to become the number one contender to the X Division Championship, held by Jay Lethal. On January 9, 2011, at Genesis Kazarian defeated Lethal to win the X Division Championship for the fifth time. On January 31 at the tapings of the February 3 episode of Impact!, Fortune turned face by attacking Immortal, when they interfered in a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match between Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy. Ric Flair, who did not take part in Fortune's turn due to being out with a torn rotator cuff, returned at the February 14 tapings of the February 17 episode of Impact!, turning on Fortune and jumping to Immortal. On March 13 at Victory Road, Kazarian successfully defended the X Division Championship in an Ultimate X match against Jeremy Buck, Max Buck and Robbie E. On April 17 at Lockdown, Kazarian, Roode, Storm and Christopher Daniels, who replaced an injured A.J. Styles, defeated Immortal representatives Ric Flair, Abyss, Bully Ray and Matt Hardy in a Lethal Lockdown match. On May 16 at the tapings of the May 19 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kazarian lost the X Division Championship to Abyss. On June 12 at Slammiversary IX, Kazarian failed to regain the title from Abyss in a three-way match with Brian Kendrick. In September, Kazarian began feuding with Jeff Jarrett over his and his wife Karen's treatment of her newly appointed assistant, Traci Brooks. In late 2011, Fortune disbanded, after both Christopher Daniels and Bobby Roode turned on their stablemates. Bad Influence (2012–2014) On the January 5, 2012, episode of Impact Wrestling, Kazarian and A.J. Styles were defeated in the finals of the Wild Card Tournament by the team of Magnus and Samoa Joe, when Kazarian abandoned Styles and left the ringside area with Christopher Daniels, turning heel in the process. Over the next few weeks it became apparent that Daniels was holding something over Kazarian, with Kazarian being reluctant to do his bidding. On February 12 at Against All Odds, Kazarian defeated Styles in a singles match. On the February 23 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kazarian attacked Styles during his Television Championship match with Robbie E, allowing Robbie to retain the championship. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Kazarian defeated Styles in a gauntlet match; had Styles been successful, Kazarian would have to explain his alliance with Daniels. On March 18 at Victory Road, Kazarian and Daniels were defeated in a tag team match by Styles and Mr. Anderson. The rivalry continued on April 15 at Lockdown, where the two duos were on opposing teams in the annual Lethal Lockdown match. Styles' and Anderson's team, led by Garett Bischoff, ended up defeating Kazarian's and Daniels' team, led by Eric Bischoff. During Styles' absence from Impact Wrestling, Kazarian and Daniels set their sights on the TNA World Tag Team Championship, attacking champions Magnus and Samoa Joe on the April 26 episode. On the May 10 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kazarian revealed that he originally aligned himself with Daniels to keep him from revealing Styles' secret, but changed his mind after learning what the secret was. Daniels then revealed the secret, a series of photographs insinuating a relationship between Styles and TNA president Dixie Carter. Three days later at Sacrifice, Kazarian and Daniels defeated Magnus and Samoa Joe to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship, starting Kazarian's second reign with the title. Later in the event, Kazarian and Daniels cost A.J. Styles his match with Kurt Angle, who afterwards turned on the two, saving Styles from a beatdown. On June 10 at Slammiversary, Kazarian and Daniels lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship to Styles and Angle. On the June 21 episode of Impact Wrestling, Styles and Carter proved that Kazarian and Daniels had been lying about their relationship by producing a pregnant woman named Claire Lynch, whom they had been helping overcome her addictions. The following week, Kazarian teased dissension with Daniels, claiming that he had been lied to. However, in the main event of the evening, Kazarian revealed that he was still on Daniels' side, when the two defeated Styles and Angle, after Kazarian hit Styles with a steel chair, to regain the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Following the win, Daniels admitted that Styles and Carter had told the truth about Claire, but claimed that they had left out the part about Styles being the father of her unborn baby. The team, billed as "The World Tag Team Champions of the World", made their first televised title defense on the August 8 episode of Impact Wrestling, defeating Devon and Garett Bischoff. Three days later at Hardcore Justice, Kazarian unsuccessfully challenged Devon for the TNA Television Championship. On the August 23 episode of Impact Wrestling, the storyline involving Claire Lynch was concluded, when she revealed that she was not pregnant after all, while also revealing Daniels' and Kazarian's plot to blackmail Styles through her fake pregnancy. On September 6 as part of the first "Championship Thursday", Kazarian and Daniels successfully defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Hernandez. Three days later at No Surrender, Kazarian and Daniels made another successful title defense against previous champions, A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle. On October 14 at Bound for Glory, Kazarian and Daniels lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship to Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Hernandez in a three-way match, which also included A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle. Kazarian and Daniels received their rematch on November 11 at Turning Point, but were again defeated by Guerrero and Hernandez. On December 9 at Final Resolution, Kazarian was defeated by James Storm in a singles match, and again on the January 3, 2013, episode of Impact Wrestling, beginning a rivalry between the newly christened Bad Influence and Storm. On March 10 at Lockdown, Bad Influence unsuccessfully challenged Austin Aries and Bobby Roode for the TNA World Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, also involving Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Hernandez. In April, Kazarian and Daniels began teasing a Fortune reunion to battle the Aces & Eights stable, however, this plan was foiled by A.J. Styles and Bobby Roode both turning down offers to join them. Bad Influence faced Austin Aries and Bobby Roode in a number one contenders match on the May 9 episode of Impact Wrestling, however, the match ended in a no contest after special guest referee James Storm superkicked Aries and Daniels and walked out on the match. On June 2 at Slammiversary XI, Bad Influence failed to capture the TNA World Tag Team Championship from Chavo Guerrero, Jr. and Hernandez in an fatal four-way elimination match, which also included Austin Aries and Bobby Roode and was won by Gunner and James Storm. On the June 13 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kazarian and Daniels defeated Gunner and Storm in a non-title match to qualify for the 2013 Bound for Glory Series. Kazarian would begin the BFG series by losing to the likes of Magnus and A.J. Styles. On the July 11 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kazarian and Bobby Roode defeated Austin Aries and Christopher Daniels in a tag team match, with Kazarian pinning his Bad Influence partner for the win, to qualify for the BFG series gauntlet match later in the evening. During the match, however, Kazarian was the first man eliminated by A.J. Styles. On the August 8 episode of Impact Wrestling, Kazarian and Daniels faced off in a BFG series match, but despite teasing tension earlier in the night, got themselves intentionally counted out to gain two points in the tournament. Afterwards, Kazarian and Daniels allied themselves with Bobby Roode to form a new force, and so that one of them would win the Bound for Glory series. The following week at ''Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice'', Kazarian defeated A.J. Styles, Austin Aries, and Jeff Hardy in a ladder match, following interference from Daniels and Roode, to capture twenty points in the BFG Series. On the August 8 Impact Wrestling, Daniels and Kazarian faced off in a BFG series match. Despite teasing tension earlier in the night, they both intentionally got counted out to gain two points each. Afterward, they allied with Bobby Roode, in hopes it would help one of them win the tournament. At the Bound for Glory pre-show, Bad Influence were defeated by the tag team of Eric Young & Joseph Park in a tag team gauntlet match to determine the number one contenders to face the TNA World Tag Team Champions, James Storm & Gunner, during the Bound For Glory PPV later that night. Following their elimination, Bad Influence attacked Park causing him to bleed from the mouth. The same night, during the PPV, Bad Influence interrupted the show to petition TNA management to place themselves into the TNA World Tag Team Championship match later that night between James Storm & Gunner and challengers The BroMans. However, before they got an answer Abyss appeared and attacked them. Over the following few weeks, Bad Influence would mock Park and try to reveal his true identity. On the November 5 edition of Impact Wrestling, Bad Influence revealed that Park's law firm (Park, Park & Park) had closed 15 years ago and consequently Park had been lying about being a lawyer. On December 12, Bad Influence were defeated by Park & Young when Young caused his own partner to bleed resulting in Park transforming into Abyss, as a result of seeing his own blood, and gaining the victory. On December 26, Bad Influence were defeated again by Park in a Monster's Ball Handicap match. On March 2, 2014, Bad Influence were part of a group of TNA wrestlers that took part in Wrestle-1's Kaisen: Outbreak event in Tokyo, Japan, defeating Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka) in a tag team match. On March 9, 2014 at TNA Lockdown, Bad Influence along with Chris Sabin were defeated by Wrestle-1's The Great Muta, Sanada, and Yasu in a six-man interpromotional tag team steel cage match. On April 12, 2014, at TNA One Night Only's X-Travaganza 2 event Bad Influence were defeated by The Wolves (Eddie Edwards and Davey Richards) in the EC3 Invitational Ladder match where the winners received $25,000. On April 23 Daniels announced his departure from TNA thus dissvolving the team. On May 11, it was reported that Kazarian had also worked the final dates of his contract with TNA. World Wrestling Entertainment (2005) On February 15, 2005, Kazarian left TNA on good terms and signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He was assigned to Ohio Valley Wrestling, the primary developmental territory of WWE. He made his WWE television debut during an episode of Velocity on July 16, 2005, under the name "The Future" Frankie Kazarian defeating Nunzio, and remained undefeated throughout July and into August. During this time, he picked up victories against Scotty 2 Hotty, Funaki, and Paul London respectively. On August 15, Kazarian announced on his website that he had left WWE two days earlier. The reasons for the departure were said to be that many of WWE's writers still did not know who he was after over a month in the company. Kazarian remained undefeated during his stint in WWE. Ring of Honor (2014-2018) After his TNA contract expires on June 1, 2014 Kazarian was announced to debut in Ring of Honor. At Best in the World, Kazarian made his ROH debut teaming with Christopher Daniels to Challenge reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) for the ROH World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles. Return to the independent circuit (2000–2007) Kazarian returned to the Californian independent circuit shortly after his release. He wrestled on the August 19 Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) show in Los Angeles, Smells Like Steen Spirit", where he teamed with Petey Williams to unsuccessfully challenge El Generico and Human Tornado for the PWG Tag Team Championships. During PWG's (Please Don't Call it) The O.C. on May 6, 2006, Kazarian's signature ponytail was cut off by Scorpio Sky, who he was feuding with at the time. This would begin a nine-month rivalry during which Scorpio Sky would defeat Kazarian in a "First Blood" match. In September, Kazarian beat Scorpio Sky in the first round of the Battle of Los Angeles Tournament by disqualification when Scorpio's manager Jade Chung attacked Kazarian with scissors when Kazarian was pinning Scorpio. The feud ended on January 13, 2007 when Kazarian beat Scorpio in a "Loser Leaves PWG" match, just as he did with Adam Pearce. Other promotions While Bad Influence were in TNA, they appeared in other promotions. On January 24, 2014, Bad Influences appeared at Big Time Wrestling's Battle Royal, where they defeated The Ballard Brothers (Shane Ballard & Shannon Ballard). On April 5, Bad Influences appeared in two events. First, they defeated The Bravado Brothers (Harlem Bravado & Lancelot Bravado) at Dragon Gate USA's Mercury Rising. After, they defeated Irish Airborne (Dave Crist & Jake Crist) at WrestleCon. All Elite Wrestling (2018-present) As of 2018, it was reported Kazarian is signed to All Elite Wrestling. He made his debut in 2019 on May 25 at AEW Double or Nothing. There he teamed with Christopher Daniels and Scorpio Sky under the team name SoCal Uncensored (SCU) in defeating team Strong Hearts (CIMA, El Lindaman & T-Hawk) in a tag match. Team SCU returned the following month at AEW Fyter Fest, where Kazarian and Scorpio Sky wrestled in a three-way tag match against teams Private Party and Best Friends. The following month at AEW Fight For The Fallen, SCU's Kazarian and Scorpio Sky teamed in a tag match lost to The Lucha Brothers. At AEW All Out, team SCU in full force won a tag match defeating The Jurassic Express. On October 2, team SCU competed in pre-show tag match leading to the series premiere of AEW Dyanmite, defeating The Jurassic Express in a rematch. During the program, team SCU later appeared for a mic segment with Tony Schiavone, during which Scorpio Sky announced teammates Kazarian and Daniels would enter the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament. This lured out the Lucha Brothers who declared they would win the AEW Tag Team titles, ending in a brawl between the opposing teams. On the October 30 episode of AEW Dynamite, Kazarian and Scorpio Sky defeated the Lucha Brothers in the tournament final to become the first-ever AEW World Tag Team Champions. Other media Kazarian made a cameo appearance on an episode of The Man Show where Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla learned how to wrestle. He also appeared in the film Backyard Dogs in 2000 as "Snake Duggan" and was on an episode of |Distraction with Curry Man and Samoa Joe. Kazarian was also referenced in Mike Vallely's documentary, Mike V's Greatest Hits, in which one part of it involved the pro skater spending part of his time as a wrestler. He also made a cameo appearance in MTV's Made when the Motor City Machine Guns were making a Michigan choir boy into a professional wrestler. In wrestling *'Finishing and signature moves' *'As Suicide' **''D.O.A.'' (Leg trap sunset flip powerbomb) ** Suicide Solution (Twisting flipping leg hook belly to back suplex) *'As Kaz/Kazarian' **''Back to the Future'' (Bridging wrist lock electric chair drop) **'Bicycle kick' **''Flux Capacitor'' (Rolling moonsault side slam) **'Half nelson choke with bodyscissors' – PWG **''Wave of the Future'' (Swinging reverse STO) **Back to belly piledriver **Dropkick, sometimes to a cornered opponent followed by a kip up **Hangman's neckbreaker followed into a DDT **Jumping high kick **Multiple suplex variations ***Belly to belly ***German ***Leg hook **Running single leg dropkick **Slingshot into a DDT a leg drop or double knee facebreaker **Spin kick **Springboard into a corner dropkick to a seated opponent, a revolving leg drop, or a back elbow smash **Swinging neckbreaker *'With Matt Bentley' **''Modern Art'' (Superkick (Bentley) followed into a bridging German suplex (Kazarian) combination) **''Xtreme Elimination'' (Legsweep (Kazarian) / Superkick (Bentley) combination) *'Managers' **Jade Chung **Looney Lane **Melina **So Cal Val **Traci **C. Edward Vander Pyle **'A.J. Styles' **'Ric Flair' *'Nicknames' ** The Coolest **The Future **'The K–A–Z' *'Entrance themes' **"You're the Best" by Joe "Bean" Esposito **"Kaz" by Dale Oliver (Cover of "Coming Undone" by Korn) ** "Coming Alive" by Dale Oliver ** "Fortune 4" by Dale Oliver (used while part of Fortune) ** "Devious" by Dale Oliver (used while teaming with Christopher Daniels) ** "Bad Influence" by Dale Oliver (used while teaming with Christopher Daniels) ** "Your Sexy Beast" by Kushinator (used while teaming with Christoper Daniels) Championships and accomplishments *'All Elite Wrestling' **AEW World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Scorpio Sky *'Big Time Wrestling' **BTW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Jason Styles *'California Wrestling Coalition' **CWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Iron Eagle **CWC Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Cauliflower Alley Club' **Future Legends Award (2005) *'Empire Wrestling Federation' **EWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **EWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Josh Galaxy *'International Wrestling Coalition' **IWC United States Championship (1 time) *'Jersey All Pro Wrestling' **JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) **JAPW New Jersey State Championship (1 time) *'Millennium Pro Wrestling' **MPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Phoenix Championship Wrestling' **PCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Nova **PCW Television Championship (1 time) *'Pro Wrestling Guerrilla' **PWG Championship (2 times) *'Ring of Honor' **ROH World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Christopher Daniels (2) and Scorpio Sky (1) **ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Christopher Daniels and Scorpio Sky *'Total Nonstop Action Wrestling' **TNA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Eric Young/Super Eric (1) and Christopher Daniels (2) **TNA X Division Championship (5 times)1 **Fight for the Right Tournament (2007) **X Division King of the Mountain (2008, 20092) ** TNA World Cup of Wrestling (2013) - with Christoper Daniels, James Storm, Kenny King and Mickie James **Match of the Year (2003) vs. Chris Sabin and Michael Shane, August 20, 2003 **Memorable Moment of the Year (2003) The first Ultimate X match *'Ultimate Pro Wrestling' **UPW Lightweight Championship (1 time) **UPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Nova *'United States Xtreme Wrestling' **UXW Xtreme Championship (1 time) *'West Coast Wrestling Alliance' **WCWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards' ** Tag Team of the Year (2012) - with Christopher Daniels ** Worst Worked Match of the Year (2006) TNA Reverse Battle Royal at TNA Impact! Notes 1Kazarian and Michael Shane were declared co-champions after defeating A.J. Styles in an Ultimate X match at Weekly PPV #104 by grabbing the belt at the same time. This co-reign was the second time that both men had won the championship. External links * * CAGEMATCH Profile Category:American wrestlers Category:3XW Wrestling alumni Category:All Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Alternative Wrestling Show alumni Category:Asistencia Asesoría y Administración alumni Category:Big Time Wrestling alumni Category:Blood Sweat And Ears alumni Category:Border City Wrestling alumni Category:Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Empire Wrestling Federation alumni Category:German Stampede Wrestling alumni Category:Impact Zone Wrestling alumni Category:Inoki Genome Federation alumni Category:International Wrestling Cartel alumni Category:Jersey All Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Maximum Pro Wrestling alumni Category:New Era Pro Wrestling alumni Category:New Wave Pro Wrestling alumni Category:North American Wrestling alumni Category:NWA Cyberspace alumni Category:NWA Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Ohio Valley Wrestling alumni Category:Pennsylvania Championship Wrestling alumni Category:Premier Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Alliance alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Guerrilla alumni Category:Pro Wrestling Xpress alumni Category:Pro Wrestling ZERO1 alumni Category:Quintessential Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Rising Phoenix Wrestling alumni Category:SoCal Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Ultimate Pro Wrestling alumni Category:USA Pro Wrestling alumni Category:USA Xtreme Wrestling alumni Category:Wild West Championship Wrestling alumni Category:World Series Wrestling alumni Category:World Wrestling All-Stars alumni Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:World Wrestling League alumni Category:1977 births Category:1998 debuts Category:TNA X-Division Champions Category:Masked Wrestlers Category:California wrestlers Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling alumni Category:Ring of Honor alumni Category:Combat Zone Wrestling alumni Category:Dragon Gate USA alumni Category:EPIC Pro Wrestling WAR alumni Category:Future Pro Wrestling alumni Category:House Of Hardcore alumni Category:National Wrestling Superstars alumni Category:New Japan Dojo alumni Category:NWA Pro East alumni Category:Premier British Wrestling alumni Category:Pro Wrestling LIVE alumni Category:Reality of Wrestling alumni Category:Southside Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:United Wrestling Federation alumni Category:Vendetta Pro Wrestling alumni Category:WRESTLE-1 alumni Category:WrestleCon alumni Category:DREAMWAVE Wrestling alumni Category:New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Squared Circle Wrestling alumni Category:Union Of European Wrestling Alliances alumni Category:Armenian Wrestlers Category:Living people Category:NRW Pro Wrestling alumni Category:Male wrestlers Category:ROH World Tag Team Champions Category:TNA World Tag Team Champions Category:Family Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champions Category:All Elite Wrestling current roster Category:AEW World Tag Team Champions